CTV moves up broadcast date for documentary on Tragically Hip's final tour

Lead singer Gord Downie is seen performing on a screen as a man watches during a viewing party for the final stop in Kingston, Ont., of a 10-city national concert tour by The Tragically Hip, in Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday, August 20, 2016. Downie, the poetic lead singer of the Tragically Hip whose determined fight with brain cancer inspired a nation, has died. He was 53. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The Canadian Press
Published Wednesday, October 18, 2017 5:03PM EDT
Last Updated Wednesday, October 18, 2017 7:34PM EDT

Tragically Hip fans mourning the death of Gord Downie will have a chance to see a new documentary about the band's final tour and a broadcast of a "Secret Path" concert in the coming days.

The documentary "Long Time Running" was originally scheduled to air on CTV in November but has been moved up to Friday. It will air again on Nov. 12 and become available to stream on CraveTV.

On Sunday, the CBC will air "Gord Downie's Secret Path in Concert," which was filmed at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall last October. It will also stream online.

The broadcast also includes backstage conversations and portions of the animated "Secret Path" film, which accompanied Downie's solo album.

"Secret Path" is based on the true story of Chanie Wenjack, who was 12 when he died in 1966 after running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora, Ont.

More than 30 members of Wenjack's family attended the Toronto performance, which marked the 50th anniversary of his death. Proceeds were donated to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund.

"Long Time Running" had its world premiere in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Filmmakers Nicholas de Pencier and Jennifer Baichwal said the documentary came together "on a dime," in part because Downie's diagnosis meant the band wasn't sure they would be able to finish the tour.

"We all were sort of in this, 'Is this really the right thing to do in this moment?"' Baichwal said. "And it was, and so that's how it came together.... They trusted us."

In May 2016, Downie revealed his diagnosis with glioblastoma, an incurable form of cancer. He died Tuesday night "with his beloved children and family close by," according to a statement on the Tragically Hip's website. He was 53.